The Gendreau Family Medical Fund

I have been asked by the family to provide this information - If you are interested in donating directly to the Gendreau family, you can do so by contacting Paisha Walker (you can find her on Facebook/ Facebook messenger). She will then provide you with the email address to use!

Thanks!

Taryn

Hello! Please meet the Gendreau family!

Rene is 41 and lives in Grande Prairie with his wife, Krysta and their three boys, ages 15, 14 and 8. Their lives changed entirely eight years ago when Rene was diagnosed with kidney disease. The diagnosis meant that over time, Rene’s kidneys would begin to fail and that in order to be able to live, he would eventually need a transplant. It wouldn’t be a matter of "if", but a matter of "when". Rene has fought very hard these last 8 years. His tenacious attitude has helped him to stay active and to remain as healthy as possible. His goal, of course, is to live the best life possible and to be there for his family and friends, especially his beautiful wife Krysta and his sons Ethan, Owen, and Nixon.

Over time, Rene’s kidney function has continued to drop, and unfortunately, just after Christmas, things drastically changed for the worse. He was told that his kidneys were only working at 5%, which means that they are failing quickly. Every day is different with this disease, and his kidneys are not the only things that are affected. Although Rene is exhausted most of the time, and his body desperately needs rest, he is unable to sleep. He suffers from a deep chill and severe, full-body aches. No matter what he does, he cannot stay warm. He has no appetite and suffers from a pounding headache and high blood pressure, which causes ongoing bloody noses that last a long time.

The only way that Rene can be healed of his suffering is to undergo a kidney transplant. At this point, we have run out of time to wait for a transplant without having him start on dialysis. He is still waiting on a match for a transplant, so he has to start on dialysis to keep his kidneys alive long enough to get him to his transplant date. On January 20th, Rene and his wife, Krysta made the impossibly tough decision to leave their kids in Grande Prairie and to head to Edmonton for an indeterminate amount of time. Rene needs to be close to his kidney specialist and transplant team at the University of Alberta hospital. On January 23rd he had a procedure completed to insert a central venous catheter into his chest so that dialysis could begin immediately. He will have to undergo dialysis 3x a week and will need to be in Edmonton for a minimum of six months, (possibly longer) depending on how long it takes to find a donor.

Krysta needs to remain by Rene’s side to help care for him at this time. Since she is not able to work regular hours and is away from home, the expenses are piling up. Not only are the regular month-to-month bills to be paid at home, but there are also new expenses as they navigate life in Edmonton. All donations will go directly to the Gendreau family to offset some of the financial burdens during Rene’s treatment and recovery.

Rene is also in desperate need of a kidney transplant. If you are interested in being tested to see if you can be a “living match”, please contact the Living Donor Program at [phone redacted], the testing is all covered by your Health Care. His blood match is A or O. If you don’t know your blood type the testing will determine that.

Please check back here for updates on this situation. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your thoughts, prayers, and tangible help.